Meet Melody
American Girl has a new series out, Melody Ellison in 1964 Detroit, which I read with some trepidation because I was so very disappointed last year by their 1950s series about Maryellen.
But fortunately, the Melody books a good deal better than the Maryellen books, anyway, not least because the Melody books were clearly conceived as two books, not six books that were then awkwardly glued together in two with no craft or artistry. (Yes, I'm bitter.)
And, because the Melody books take place during the Civil Rights Era (and because Melody is black), unlike the Maryellen books they actually make use of the historical conflicts of their era. In fact, when I was first reading them, I found it a little ham-fisted - everything in Melody's life ties back into the Civil Rights movement, everything, and it would have been nice if she had at least one conflict that was basically small and personal, like Addy during the Civil War trying to learn double Dutch.
But after Trump's election - well, being ham-fisted about a message like "stand up for the things you believe in and make your voice heard" is hardly the worst thing that a book could do.
It still has no illustrations, though. I think I have mentioned this in every single thing I've written about American Girl ever since their horrifying decision to cut the illustrations, but IT IS SO HORRIFYING, OKAY, I just can't get over it.
Ugh, though, and these books could have had such good illustrations. Melody plants a goddamn garden! WITH HOLLYHOCKS, who doesn't want some gorgeous hollyhock illustrations??? And there's also a great scene where she gets a beautiful cream-colored coat for her birthday, which is clearly designed to move doll coats, and wouldn't it sell even MORE doll coats if the eight-year-olds of America could see the coat in the book and covet it from that moment? If American Girl won't do it for the sheer joy of having beautiful illustrations, they ought to do it for the marketing opportunity.
***
I will say, though, if you want to read a recent children's book about the civil rights struggle - or just read a really good book in general - I would recommend Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming. It's both more politically engaged/radical than the Melody books, and includes a nice smattering of subplots that don't revolve around politics, which makes the heroine and her world feel more well-rounded and alive.
But fortunately, the Melody books a good deal better than the Maryellen books, anyway, not least because the Melody books were clearly conceived as two books, not six books that were then awkwardly glued together in two with no craft or artistry. (Yes, I'm bitter.)
And, because the Melody books take place during the Civil Rights Era (and because Melody is black), unlike the Maryellen books they actually make use of the historical conflicts of their era. In fact, when I was first reading them, I found it a little ham-fisted - everything in Melody's life ties back into the Civil Rights movement, everything, and it would have been nice if she had at least one conflict that was basically small and personal, like Addy during the Civil War trying to learn double Dutch.
But after Trump's election - well, being ham-fisted about a message like "stand up for the things you believe in and make your voice heard" is hardly the worst thing that a book could do.
It still has no illustrations, though. I think I have mentioned this in every single thing I've written about American Girl ever since their horrifying decision to cut the illustrations, but IT IS SO HORRIFYING, OKAY, I just can't get over it.
Ugh, though, and these books could have had such good illustrations. Melody plants a goddamn garden! WITH HOLLYHOCKS, who doesn't want some gorgeous hollyhock illustrations??? And there's also a great scene where she gets a beautiful cream-colored coat for her birthday, which is clearly designed to move doll coats, and wouldn't it sell even MORE doll coats if the eight-year-olds of America could see the coat in the book and covet it from that moment? If American Girl won't do it for the sheer joy of having beautiful illustrations, they ought to do it for the marketing opportunity.
***
I will say, though, if you want to read a recent children's book about the civil rights struggle - or just read a really good book in general - I would recommend Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming. It's both more politically engaged/radical than the Melody books, and includes a nice smattering of subplots that don't revolve around politics, which makes the heroine and her world feel more well-rounded and alive.